Hardware Wars

20 minutes of purely wholesome, silly Star Wars spoof fun. Watching "Hardware Wars" really made me think about how there wasn't really that much to the whole first Star Wars film (it boils it down into less than half an hour and still has the same themes and story as the original). It's a good film just to watch if you want to amuse your friends, but I could see how "Hardware Wars" could lose some of it's spunk after a few viewings. A few friends of mine actually couldn't wait for it to be over, which is understandable if you get tired of lowbrow, silly humor easily. The newly added computer generated graphics seem to detract a little from the whole, but hell, if it drags it out a little longer, all the better. Imagine a MAD Magazine article brought to life, and that's the perfect summation of "Hardware Wars". And the box cover looks pretty neat too.

Auggie Ben Doggie? Chewbacca as Cookie Monster, gnawing on the Princess' cinnamon-roll hairdo? Yes, all this and a flying toaster in "Hardware Wars", one of those rare gems they used to play between films on HBO in the early 80's. All the same, it's not as funny as "Pork Lips Now", an "Apocalypse Now" parody by the same team, which can be seen on the same tape if you go rent this at the video store. This kind of half-baked 70's lo-tech humour is sadly missed.....

I'm a big lover of underground, unpolished, gritty-style fare, and as far as I'm concerned, HARDWARE WARS and BUDGET LIQUOR are the two greatest short films ever made. hands down.

HARDWARE WARS, in addition to being a star wars parody, is a super-hip piece of Retro work-- check out all the crazy stock footage, the ancient Art Deco style props, the background tunes, cool little details like the fuzzy dice over the dashboard or the closeups of spedometers,and what you get is an homage to the coolness of yesteryear. (You can really tell that Fosselius is from Frisco)

Out of all the parodies of Star Wars I've seen, this is probably the funniest. Not because of the premise, Star Wars with simple electronics instead of spaceships, but because of how poorly acted it is. This is purposely overacted, and it makes it hilarious, and since everyone knows its purposely overacted, no one complains. The special effects were also purposely as awful as can be, and include a toaster on a visible string that shoots toast, and an egg beater on a string. This short is funny for any fan of Star Wars (which I'm not), or anyone that has 15 minutes to kill. Great short!!

My rating: *** out of ****. 13 mins. Not rated.

The DVD has been released in the UK now- but you'll have to hunt for it. Although it may seem pricey for a short film, but there's bags of extras....and it saves you from buying any other guff. Furthermore, It's possibly one of the funniest flicks ever. Just buy it.